Add gold without heat to silver ring

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi All,

I’ve been reading for years but finally have a question I need help
with! I recently made a silver elk ivory ring with seven small stones
flush set on either side. The customer had wanted a gold bezel around
the oval ivory but it wasn’t very well communicated so I made the
ring in all silver. Does anyone know of any way to add a gold strip
around that center stone without heat? I can’t take all of the stones
out at this point.

Thanks,
Isabel

2

Make friends with someone with a laser welder. The other option is
make your gold bezel and artistically rivet it to the silver ring.
Class ring companies have been using rivets to put emblems on top of
rings for years. If this is something you want to do respond in such
and I am forum folks will get you in right direction.

Carl

3

Hello Isabel,

I would lift the bezel so it’s no longer in contact with the stone,
then, find someone who has a lot of experience with a welder to add
the gold to the bezel’s top edge. You may want to cut down the top
of the bezel before adding the gold because of the resulting added
thickness.

Jeff Herman

4

How about rivets to hold a fine strip of gold in place. Maybe with
decorative tops, assuming you can flatten the back of the rivets
into place.

Noralie Katsu

5

you will have to make a gold bezel using strip and solder it after
carefully measuring the oval’s opening when it fits perfectly it
will snap into place- the trick is to use the basic flush setting
method to prepare the opening and then the component will pressure
fit into place…patsy croft - aloha lani designs taught this method
years ago and is, i’m betting, willing to do it for you if you are
willing to pay her fee for labour ( about 27 an hour ) plus
materials. She is in birmingham and North carolina ( brasstown
NC)…rer

6

One way would be gilding. You will need to coat the parts you dont
want gilded with stop (lacomit or similar)but it is fairly
straightforward.

Best regards,
Nick Royall

7 
Does anyone know of any way to add a gold strip around that center
stone without heat? I can't take all of the stones out at this
point.

Find someone with a laser welder or a PUK welder to attach your gold
strip. I do that sort of addition to pieces quite regularly this
way…

Peter

8

You might try electro forming the gold around the ivory but will
need to protect the ivory from the chemicals…

Good luck…
Vernon Wilson

9

Hi Isabel

Seems to me that you could create a band, maybe a bit thicker than
bevel wire, around the existing bezel. Then solder posts to the
underside of the gold band. Drill holes in the ring that the posts
would slip through and rivet the band in place. If the ring is thick
enough, the rivets would be countersunk, making the inside of the
ring smoother. It may be tricky to pean the rivets inside the ring,
but I’d work it from either side with a chasing or dapping tool.

Another thought: If there is room on the face of the ring, create
some kind if decorative tabs soldered to the gold band. Create
rivets with heads inside the ring and rivet through tabs, mushroom
rivets on the outside/ top of the ring. Tabs could be silver with
gold rivets or gold tabs & silver rivets.

Hope that is helpful,
Nancy

10

I’m like Rourke’s suggestion, you don’t need an expensive machine,
but if the silver bezel is thick enough, I’ll make a little grove on
the base of the silver bezel and ones the thin gold bezel slides
snuggly over, I’ll push with a polish and thin burnisher the bottom
of the gold bezel into the grove, so there’s no way to get out, and
also make the gold bezel a little higher so it’s cover the top of
the silver bezel resting over the ivory.

Gustavo Suarez

11

Adding metal band to wood are ivory is a common technique, used to
keep dagger handles from splitting. It can also be used to add band
of different metal around metal base.

Use gold 18k or higher. 14k possible, but more difficult. Mark the
location of metal band on the piece. File tiny grooves all around,
marking off the area where the band would go. Prepare the band with
internal dimension exactly matching the external dimension of the
area. This is the most critical step. Exactly means exactly. You
should not be able simply to slide the band in place. The band is
driven in place by special punch, which is copper pipe of exactly
band’s dimensions.

When the band is in place, carefully file the external edges to
taper the ends of the band. To secure band in place, simply turn the
edges down with a pusher, in a manner of setting a cabochon gemstone.
If everything done correctly, very little compression of the metal
would be required.

Leonid Surpin

12

Have not read all of the replies, so forgive me if this is a repeat.
Sometimes it is necessary and prudent to just remake the ring the
way it was ordered. In the long run, you and YOUR CUSTOMER will be
happier.

Bill Wismar

13

If you have the money or the option you can electro form the gold on
the ring without removing the stone just need to mask off the area
you do not want the gold to be and then set things up and electro
form a layer of gold over what you have now… depending on the time
you electro form it as to the thickness of the layer of gold. It is
always nice to have the tools to do things others can not do… Gives
you a edge in the market place.

Vernon Wilson